Freak trike accident kills Akron woman

May 19, 2013

NEW GARDEN - An Akron woman was killed Sunday evening after a three-wheel motorcycle she was moving went out of control, crashing into a field near Huntington Bank.

Misty R. Sanders, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene by a representative of the county coroner's office.

According to the county sheriff's office which investigated the private-property crash, Sanders was a passenger on the Harley-Davidson trike with her fiance, Richard A. Brotherton, 59, also of Akron.

Article Photos

Hanover Township firefighters pick up pieces of a motorcycle and items from its saddle bags after it crashed in New Garden, killing its operator Sunday evening. (Salem News photo by Jo Ann Bobby-Gilbert)

Her father, Richard Griffith Jr., of Barberton, was riding behind them on motorcycle that deputies said was a rental.

They had pulled into the ATM at Huntington Bank about 6 p.m. and shut off the motorcycles so they could use the machine, when a vehicle pulled in behind them, according to deputies.

Sanders asked if she could move the trike and was given the OK by her fiance, according to Sgt. Steve Boyd, who said she had moved the bike before. He was uncertain if Sanders was an experienced motorcycle driver but said she had no motorcycle endorsement on her license.

When she started the motorcycle, her companions said it sounded as though the throttle stuck and it sped down the driveway around the bank, hitting a curb near the drive-through and ejecting Sanders into a field.

The motorcycle then flipped into the field on top of Sanders. Boyd said he did not see any evidence of a helmet being worn at the scene.

No charges will be filed against Brotherton, with Boyd saying, "It was definitely a freak accident."

The trike was pulled from the field by Baker Towing, and the other motorcycle also was to be towed because Sanders' father was too distraught to drive, deputies reported.

Statements were taken from residents living across from the bank who witnessed the crash.

Hanover Township Fire Department was on the scene, assisting the sheriff's department and KLG ambulance.